Six Days Seven Nights

Well it’s April 27th and the rain appears to have ceased…for now. We were supposed to take on Miami of the Ohio variety last Friday the 22nd but thunderstorms, incessant rain, and grass fields have continued to post-pone the game. While it has been raining non-stop for seemingly six days and seven nights, I have been secretly working hard on constructing a raft/canoe flotation device in case of an emergency. Have you seen 2012? Neither have I, but I did see the trailer, and that tidal wave engulfing the Himalayas has scarred me for life. Ringing a bell isn’t going to stop that death wave bro. Maybe it won’t be that extreme, but there is a flash flood warning so we’ll see who’s laughing when I paddle off my front porch to safety. Get over yourself.

Upset City

The 1 seed beating the 8 seed is not an upset, but Bloomington is literally upset city today. There is a large student population from the greater Chicago area and many of them are Blackhawks fans. (I apologize to all the real Blackhawks fans who followed the team pre-2009-2010 Stanley Cup run) That’s right, I just said that most Hawks fans ride on the bandwagon. Anyway, after Alexandre Burrows came up with a supreme individual effort in overtime by keeping the puck in Vancouver’s offensive zone by jumping up, snagging the biscuit, and playing it to himself, he proceeded to smoke one top left on Corey Crawford, ending the possibility of a backdoor sweep. Then in a wave of disappointment and realization, Hawks fans came back to Earth, and are now moping all over campus. I shouldn’t throw stones, as I still haven’t recovered from the game 5 shellacking the Rangers received at the hands of the Caps. Then the Knicks had to go and get swept by Boston. Sad times for New York indeed. So stop complaining Chi-towners, the Bulls closed out their series with the Pacers. Had it not been for the commentary, I wouldn’t even know that Pacers are from Indiana because it seems like everyone in this state forgot about them.

Rip City

I hate the Flyers more than any other team in the NHL, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Ville Leino had an absolutely vicious snipe early in the 3rd period resulting in a goalie change. Fast forward to the 1:55 mark, so brutal. See ya Ryan Miller.

ACC Tournament

Did you know the ACC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament happened this weekend? Probably not because it wasn’t televised. But don’t worry, ESPNU gave us an action packed weekend of Division 1 lax from the ESPNU Warrior Classic featuring UMass/ Hofstra and Rutgers/ Syracuse. Look, I’m all for getting more schools on television but I think ESPN could have planned ahead a little. Granted, these were two late-season, conference matchups (UMass and Hofstra are in the Colonial Athletic Association, Rutgers and ‘Cuse are in the Big East, in case you were wondering), and the game was played at a large venue that has never hosted a lacrosse game (UConn’s Rentschler Field). There just happened to be a better selection of games going on the same weekend that should have had priority, or shown on tape delay at the very least. Plus, the ACC tournament games were played on Friday and Sunday, while the Warrior Classic was held on Saturday. What happened?

Not to mention, there were literally 45 people at the ESPNU Warrior Classic games. Disappointing for a state that is considered a hotbed. You guys are really letting me down back home. Maybe it was due to a lack of advertising?

Everyone loves to complain about the Hopkins/ ‘Cuse/ ACC/ [insert any other recognizable program here] bias that exists in publication, in-game commentary, and broadcasting schedules. But the fact of the matter is that more people watch and follow these teams much more than they do mid-level Division 1 programs. I agree that in order to grow the game you need to expose all levels of lacrosse to the public, but shouldn’t we be putting a premium on televising elite matchups?

Clearly the more recognizable programs are shown on television more and I will agree that other schools could use more exposure. But as a fan of the game, seeing two lopsided games as opposed to being able to watch games that are traditionally tightly contested, is a little bit of a let down.

Even the CBS College Sports channel had zero coverage of the games, leaving anyone who was interested in watching the game to do so from a computer. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

Semi-final Scores

Maryland 7, UNC 6- Thomas Wood was the Heels’ only two-goal scorer on the day and Grant Catalino put home the game winner.

Duke 19, Virginia 10- Jordan Briggs lead the way for the Dukies after a 4 goal 1 assist performance and Colin Briggs was the Cavalier’s top scorer with 2 goals 3 assists

Championship Score

photo courtesy of lax.com

Maryland 7, Duke 6- The Terps trailed 6-2 heading into the 4th quarter and scored 5 unanswered goals en route to their fourth ACC title. Looks like everyone forgot about Maryland with the recent Duke success. Will they finally claim a national title for the first time since 1975? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Getting Caught In the Rain

Our game has been rescheduled for next Wednesday, May 4th. We have two huge conference games this weekend against Lindenwood and Missouri in the “Show Me State.” We need to win at least two of our remaining three games to even have a chance of making the GRLC playoffs. The past two seasons we made it to the semi-finals. There is a little added motivation this year to make the playoffs. We want to show that our record doesn’t reflect how well we can actually play. More importantly, just like every season, you want to win for the seniors. This class is special because a.) They’re the upperclassmen we’ve known the longest and b.) There’s only 3 of them left. You respect the older guys who stuck it out for four seasons and I feel for them when we don’t do well.

This post started in the rain, so it will end in the rain. I’ll leave you with Escape- Rupert Holmes. Oh yeah, I went there.

About Shagi

Mike has been playing lacrosse since the 1st grade. At the start of 4th grade his family moved to the lacrosse mecca that is Wilton, Connecticut. He is currently a junior, and is the self-proclaimed best dressed member of the team.